The Perfect Christmas Tree

One week in early December, my wife Patty and I went out to look for a Christmas tree. Every year we make this pilgrimage. We go out on a quest for the “perfect tree”. My lovely wife Patty is not a perfectionist but she does know perfection when she sees it. She is a shopper who will look at everything in the store to determine the perfect article.

I learned this about her when I proposed to her. When I popped the question, I did not give her a ring as I knew she would want input on the ring and I was right, for once! We looked at every ring in Wilmington and I was almost ready to hire some diamond mine workers to go looking in South Africa when she found one she couldn’t put down. Success at last!

So now we are off to find the perfect tree and we go to the tree lot at Pine Valley Methodist Church in Wilmington, NC where we have been successful for several years in a row. This has become a ritual for us. I’ve learned to take the tree stand with us so the guy can cut the bottom of the tree to fit the stand which makes it easier on me when we get it home.

So that is step one, get the tree stand, get in the truck and get to the tree lot. Step two is a little more labor intensive. Step two is to look at every tree on the lot and compare the attributes of the trees. Attributes you say? Yes, there are many attributes to a tree.

The attributes are:
· Height. Taller than me but not so tall it touches the ceiling,
· Shape. Full but not fat. Proportional in shape from bottom to top. Not like a weeble and not skinny at the top.
· Branches should be firm and holding strong.
· Moisture. Needles must be flexible and not so dry that they fall off in your hand.
· Color. Green with no brown patches.
· Scent. The tree should smell Christmassy!
· Dialog. It also helps if the tree actually says, “Buy me; I will make your house a Christmas Home!”

So here I am, picking up every tree on the lot, spinning them around and looking at the attributes. As we are doing this, I have an epiphany, a revelation! Here Patty and I are searching for the perfect tree for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and it hits me, just how much of an imperfect people we are searching for the perfect tree to honor the perfect man. Wow!

I further realize just how imperfect I would measure up if someone were picking me off of a lot like we are grading the trees in our selection. I am tall but my shape is not proportional. I have brown patches different than the rest of my skin. My needles are falling out. I am droopy and let’s just leave it at that. If I were a tree, would you buy me? Patty did!

But this is not my message. I am standing in the tree lot, spinning trees and I am struck by the savior’s love for us that as perfect as he was (and is) his compassion extends to the lowest of us, to me. The message is so simple and so clear to me that my feeble brain gets it right away.

As human beings we should strive for perfection!
We should encourage it,
We should demand it,
We should reward it,
We should promote it.
We should strive for perfection in ourselves, in our families, in our fellow man.

Yet while we are raising the bar, rising up to higher limits we should not decrease your span of tolerance of those who are imperfect. As our success increases, so should our compassion for those left behind, those less than perfect. So should our reach to those who are less fortunate, those who are in need.

The quest for the perfect tree may not lead to a perfect tree. That is okay because the quest is more important than the tree. The journey is more important than the destination. If I had talked Patty into picking the first tree we came to that day I would have missed a valuable lesson. I would have missed the humbling experience of how imperfect I measure up even to a good tree. I would have missed the reminder about the journey being more important than the destination.

I hope you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this holiday season. I hope you live richly and with warmth, happiness and love. I want you to know and be reminded often that God loves us all and wants us to love each other.

Remember that and remind others of this message when you see a PERFECT TREE!